Gemtropolis Halloween Special
by KKD Silver
Summary: On Halloween Night, Jessica decides to go visit her friends in Gemtropolis while her mothers hang out and watch a movie. Little do they know, a new Gem is on the loose, and her idea of making friends is not a good one. How will they handle this Gem, and will Judith overcome her fears during this time?


***TB and KKD decorate the studio in Halloween decor, though KKD seemed to focus more on the cuter stuff***

**TB: Never thought we'd go back to Gemtropolis for this sort of thing.**

**KKD: Well, it does give us some opportunity to world build, so why not?**

**TB: Yes, this is a new thing we're trying out. A holiday special for this sort of story to kinda fill the void while we try to work out the sequel.**

**KKD: And yes, we are working on one. For now, it'll give us time to show how Jess and the others are doing.**

**TB: A little bit of worldbuilding here and there, but also to see how they handle a holiday like this. We are also taking the opportunity to fix a rather egregious mistake we made while rereading the first story.**

**KKD: One minor thing… I think we made a typo in chapter 2 that makes the story confusing. I'll work on editing that ASAP, but for now, we got this. And maybe by the time you read this, I'll have fixed it, so… just relax for now.**

**TB: So what will our heroines have planned for Halloween? Let's find out. Roll disclaimers! **

**DISCLAIMERS: Neither TB nor KKD own anything related to Disney, the style the company uses, or any properties it owns that may or may not be mentioned. They also do not own anything but the original concepts, characters, and ideas seen within.**

* * *

**-October 31st, 1988-**

In the chilly autumn air, Jessica DiMartino was taking a stroll down Central Park with Mac and his boyfriend, a dark haired boy a couple inches shorter than Mac and yet looked pretty bulky even without the layers currently over his tan skin.

"Whew, it's getting pretty cold, isn't it Mitch?" Mac asked, shivering while wearing his bulky white jacket.

"What would you expect for this time of year in the Big Apple, man?" Mitch shrugged as he held Mac's hand, "Hey, Jess, what are you gonna do today for Halloween?"

"Oh, actually my Mom and I had some plans to go and see my other mom. We didn't get to see her as much until recently, so we're trying to visit when we can, y'know?" Jessica shrugged, keeping her red scarf around her neck, "Shame you can't come due to your own parties you got planned, but hey. It is what it is."

Jessica just shrugged with a slight smile, Mac taking her hand into his free one.

"You gonna dress up?" Mac checked as Jessica thought a bit, "Me and Mitch here are gonna be Ghostbusters."

"I don't know, aren't you a little too old to dress up? Being a senior and all that?" Jessica asked.

"What are you talking about? I'm not a senior. I'm 15 like you."

"WHAT?! But… y-you're so tall and-"

"I went through a pretty big growth spurt, Jess. I'm younger than I look. Don't worry, I've had most people thought I was a senior, including Mitch here."

"And honestly, I was intimidated when I met him. Not just because I was attracted, but because his size made me feel… well, tiny," Mitch added.

"Yea, it can be tough for us sometimes," Jess admitted, "Still, I'm glad to have met you through Mac."

"I'm glad I got a boyfriend and a girlfriend to hold hands with. It's like I'm the filling for a gender sandwich," Mac smiled with a blush, Mitch and Jessica just looked with confusion.

"An~d you just made it weird."

"Yea, that was too far, dude," Mitch added as they all let go.

"S-Sorry," Mac apologized, looking embarrassed before Jessica and Mitch both chuckled, each giving him a kiss on his already rosey cold cheeks, making him blush more and smile, "Thanks."

"Alright, it's time for me to go now. Have a Happy Halloween, you two!" Jessica waved as she took her skateboard out from under her arm and rode down the path back to her house.

* * *

On her way back, she kicked away some leaves to make them blow in the wind, seeing some of her neighborhood houses decorated in the typical black and oranges trappings, fake skeletons, faux tombstones, paper mache ghosts, and of course Jack-O'Lanterns everywhere. She also noticed some kids in costumes walking around already set for Trick-or-Treating with their big bags and even noticing an adult dressed in a navy blue jumpsuit with a white mask that had disheveled hair and covered his entire face while holding the hand of his son dressed as a pirate.

"I like your costumes!" Jessica complimented as she rode on by.

"Thank you!" the boy smile while waving.

"Mm. Mmph!" the man said in a muffled voice before he realized something and moved the mask off, "Thank you!"

Jessica smiled as she made it back to her home, with Jack-O-Lanterns set up on the steps as she kicked up her board and set it down on in the garage before walking up and inside the house.

"I'm home, Mom," she called out as her mother came over without any footwear and her finger and toe nails painted with alternating black and orange.

"Hello, Jessica," Lucy smiled, hugging Jessica, "How was your date?"

"It was great. Mac's so much nicer than I would've thought a month ago, and even Mitch was a cool guy."

"That's nice. Take your shoes off so I can paint both your nails."

Jessica nodded as she did so, putting her feet up on Lucy's knee, getting out the black and orange nail polish so her mom could start painting the nails.

"Excited to show the Gems Halloween?" Jessica checked, seeing Lucy was dressed as Ripley from Aliens with a dark grey tank top and baggy beige jeans that stop below her knees.

"I kinda am, actually. I told Selene about the holiday a few times, but never got to show her while I visited her when I was younger," Lucy admitted before recalling something, "But wait, who will watch for Trick or Treaters?"

"Oh~, I completely forgot about that!"

Jessica slapped the side of her head in realization of this before she began to think of something.

"One of us might have to stay to watch… I'll stay," Lucy sighed, still painting Jessica's nails.

"Come on, Mom, I wanted you to come with me. You also wanna show Sell and the Gem Warriors this holiday just as much I do," Jessica countered, trying to have her mom join her as they thought of alternatives.

"You know someone has to watch for Trick or Treaters and not leave them standing at the door with no one answering. You can go have fun with your friends."

Jessica looked at Lucy almost like she was defeated, but Lucy's calm look assured her as her daughter sighed in response.

"Alright. But I'm going to ask Sell to keep you company," Jessica responded.

"Are you sure you and the Gem Warriors can handle being in a big castle on your own?" Lucy checked, "It sounds pretty daunting."

"I think I can handle hanging out with the girls and show them how we celebrate Halloween. You don't have to sit here alone though."

"...Thank you for thinking of me, Jessica," Lucy smiled as she finished drying Jess' toenails, "And done with the feet. Now the hands."

"Is my costume ready?" Jessica checked.

"It's in your room, on your bed. I'm surprised you didn't want to dress up like I am right now."

"Mom, I'm the princess of Gemtropolis now. Part of it involves looking like one."

"Touche. Now go get dressed, sweetie."

* * *

Soon, Jessica looked at the alternating orange and black paint on her fingers and toes, wiggling the latter a bit before stepping in front of a full-length mirror to look at her costume. She had a black hairband in her hair, pale green top with a black corset-like vest, and a long grey skirt stopping at her knees. She giggled as she twirled to let the skirt lift up in the air while spinning. Jessica stopped for a moment then opened her closet to notice the platform that led to Gemtropolis was glowing while she kneeled down. The platform glowed before she teleported up into the air and then after a bit, landed in the Diamond Kingdom, seeing her friends waiting.

"What's up, everyone?" Jessica smiled with a wave, getting their attention.

"Hey, Jess is here!" Sara cheered as the other seven Gem Warriors ran to her, Sara being the first to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Welcome back," Judith greeted with a bow, also giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good to see ya again," Cyndi added, fist bumping her.

"You gonna show us this Halloween thing?" Cassie checked as she stepped up with Sami.

"In a moment," Jessica nodded.

"I like your costume. It's very cute," Liza complimented.

"Thanks."

"Where's Lucy?" Beth inquired.

"Oh… about that. We have Trick or Treaters coming to our house and we don't know if any will show up or not. Kids come to doors asking for candy, so she's staying to keep an ear out," Jessica informed.

"That's unfortunate," she heard a voice said with a slight hint of disappointment, making the others turn to see Selene, "I was hoping to see from Lulu about Halloween after hearing her excitement for so long."

"You can still see her. So, Sell… could you do me a favor and stay with Mom so she doesn't have to feel lonely?"

"Well… I suppose if it's just for the time being. Will you eight be alright in here by yourselves?" Selene checked as the Gem Warriors looked to each other and Jessica.

"I believe we can," Judith figured.

"Very well then. Diane is in the library if you need her."

"How's she doing?" Jessica checked.

"She's getting better. She's mostly reading in the library about a variety of things, mostly about the different types of Gems here. I'll see you all later tonight, okay?" Selene smiled as she stepped towards the platform in the garden before she teleported back to Earth.

"Alright, first order of business… who's got the pumpkins?"

"Um… I got pumpkin melons from my garden. Does that count?" Sara offered, showing off a cart of what looked to be pumpkins with watermelon colors.

"That'll do."

* * *

Back home, Lucy sat on her couch waiting for the sound of Trick or Treaters ringing the doorbell before hearing a familiar sound, looking at the stairs to see a familiar woman walking down.

"Nice home you have," she smiled, revealing Selene.

"Leenie!" Lucy smiled as she ran over to her Gem wife and hugged her, kissing her repeatedly, even on the neck, making Selene giggle as they looked at each other, "I'm sorry I couldn't join you and the others back at Gemtropolis."

"It's fine, Lulu. Jessica asked me to keep you company while you listen for… what are they called? Trick or Treaters?"

"Yes, that's right. They're just gathering up candy from the neighbors while dressed in costumes. So while we wait… would you like to watch a movie with me?"

"Absolutely. What are the options?"

Selene walked over and sat down on the couch while watching Lucy look through her collection.

"I got both VHS and Laserdisc films. Let's see… we have all three Star Wars films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, uh, Sleeping Beauty… we could watch something scary for tonight," Lucy figured as she scanned her collection, "Oh, here we go. *plucks out a Laserdisc* Jaws."

"Jaws? That sounds… interesting," Selene noted as Lucy pulled the large vinyl-like disc from the case and placed said case on the table.

"I never got the chance to show you this film, but it's very good."

"My goodness that is a huge disc."

"I know. But the problem is that if there's multiple discs, you'll have to flip it to another side and put in another disc."

Lucy put the large disc into the Laserdisc device and started up the movie as she sat next to Selene and leaned on her shoulder.

"You can hold my hand if you get scared," Lucy offered, the Diamond nodding as she did so while rubbing her feet against Lucy's own.

* * *

Back in the Diamond Kingdom, Jessica was carving out one of the pumpkin melons until she got a good face on the front, the red innards contrasting to the very green rind of the fruit. She sat in between Judith and Sara, the former having some more difficulty with the carving knife as the rind seemed to grip tighter on the blade than she expected until her grip slipped and she ended up scratching herself.

"Ouch, I cut my finger a bit," Judith winced, putting said finger in her mouth as Sara sighed.

"I warned you the pumpkin melons have some tough rinds. If you don't use the right motions, you're going to get stuck and end up cutting yourself," Sara warned while handling her own, "I'm almost done with mine. I'm making a funny face."

"Whatever face you girls want to make, just go for it. It doesn't have to be scary," Jessica said, everyone focused on finishing.

"Alright! I did mine," Cassie smiled, turning her pumpkin melon around to reveal big upper teeth and angry eyes as if to convey a vampiric facial expression.

"Impressive, Cassie. How's mine?" Sami checked, revealing what appeared to be an elaborate carving of a wolf howling at the moon.

"I… wow, you end up one upping me a lot."

Cassie looked a little down, but Sami smiled and kissed her fellow Gen on the lips, making the Ruby smile in response. Soon, Liza finished her own pumpkin melon carving, her own having carved big glasses for the eyes while Beth showed one with three eyes in a very peaceful expression, making Liza giggle in response.

"I'm not sure about mine," Cyndi admitted, showing a crude carving of a skull with a mohawk, "I'm not exactly an artist."

"You still did your best," Sara complimented, Cyndi smiling a bit as the Emerald turned her pumpkin melon to reveal her funny face that she mentioned, one eye closed and a tongue sticking out of the straight lips.

"That is pretty funny," Jessica giggled a bit before turning to the Pearl, "How about you Judith?"

"Well… I thought I'd make it simple, nothing too complicated," Judith informed, revealing her pumpkin melon to have the normal wide eyes and smiley face with one tooth.

"Very nice. I went for… almost Frankenstein with mine."

Jessica turned her melon around to reveal the flat head shape up top along with a scar and two bolts on the bottom, complete with a blank face.

"Ooh~, spine tingling," Sara shuddered a bit with a smile before they all looked at their final products.

"And now, we will light them up," Jessica stated.

They each took a candle, lit them on fire and placed them inside the newly carved melons before placing the lids on top of them.

"And done. Let's go put them on the steps outside," Jessica instructed as they walked outside and set the Jack O'Lanterns up on the large castle steps before smiling at their work, the half-Gem princess looking to the sky turn orange, "Hey, the sun's going down."

"Oh, what shall we do next?" Judith inquired.

"Well at this point, I say we tell some scary stories."

"I'm down," Cyndi responded.

"Have I got a tale for you," Cassie smirked, no one noticing Judith pale a bit.

"Let's hope no nightmares end up coming into our subconscious," Liza added with some worry.

"Hey, Judith… you okay?" Sara checked, noticing how the Pearl seemed to pale up.

"Me? Yes, yes, I'm alright. Nothing to worry about. Let's go ahead with the storytelling," Judith insisted as the others tried to set up for their story time, allowing the pearl to wipe away a bead of sweat, '_Just bear with it, Judith. It's only going to be for tonight. Don't embarrass yourself by acting all scared of a silly story.'_

With that mental pep talk, Judith followed suit shortly after.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucy and Selene continued watching Jaws, still holding hands and actually gripping each other tighter, Selene looking more scared from the building suspense. Lucy was starting to look scared too before they heard the doorbell ring, making them jump a bit before Lucy looked out the window.

"Oh, it's the Trick-or-Treaters. Excuse me," she replied before opening the door.

"Trick or Treat!" the kids cheered, holding up their bags as Lucy handed them the candy they wanted.

"Here you go, all your costumes are really nice."

"Thank you!" they all smiled as they left and waved before moving to the next house.

"This happens all night?" Selene asked.

"Sometimes they come, sometimes they don't. Somewhere in between," Lucy shrugged a bit, "Admittedly, I've seen some people just leave buckets of candy outside for the kids to take what they please, but I'd rather be polite and open the door."

"I see. That's very sweet of you. Back to the movie? It's getting really good."

"Of course."

Lucy got back on the couch, this time with her knees up and holding Selene close to her as they continued.

* * *

Back at the castle, the eight sat around a lantern of crystal shards as the sunset glimmered into the room.

"So, Cassie, you said you got a good story to tell?" Jessica checked as the Ruby smirked, her gem eye glistening a bit.

"Oh yeah. Do you all have the nerve to listen?" Cassie dared as everyone nodded in response, Judith being the hesitant one as she held her knees close to her chest, "Okay. Now we all know a certain Gem we all represent. I, the Rubies, Sami, Sapphires, and so on. Does anyone know about the Spinels?"

"That's new to me," Jessica admitted.

"There are still Gems out there that are ancient or have not been found, but I have never once heard of Spinels," Beth admitted, the other Gems equally surprised.

"Well, there's a reason for that. There was always one Spinel. Each time it would seem another would join her ranks, the individual would vanish without a trace, leaving just the one."

"W-Why would there only be one?" Judith asked in confusion and anxiety.

* * *

"_Because that's the way she likes it. From what I've heard, she has this very feared power. If she touched a Gem, no matter what it is, she will absorb that very Gem's soul into her own,"_ Cassie informed as we now see Diane sitting in the large library browsing through a few books under the candlelight.

One book caught her attention, titled The Lone Spinel. Curious, she opened it and began to read it.

"_That's why there was never another Spinel, because she absorbed all their souls into her own Gem. It doesn't mean that they're fully gone. They come back, but… almost like puppets,"_ Cassie further explained, Diane looking more worried with her read as something began to stir.

"Thousands… millions… oh my Lady Obsidian, how many more souls has this Spinel taken?" Diane gawked, her eyes widening as she continued to read, unaware of a presence that seemed to enter from the window of the top floor of the library.

"_They even say that she still wanders, looking for more souls to be her 'friends',"_ Cassie further told as from the figure's perspective, she snuck by the rails without being seen while also eyeing Diane and noticing there was no Gem on her being.

The Gemless woman continued to read through her book as the figure averted her gaze and continued sneaking.

* * *

"That's rather terrifying," Sami admitted as Cassie felt her holding her hand.

"It's still just a story told to scare everyone, but you gotta imagine what it's like being trapped inside the Spinel gem," Cassie shrugged as bit as everyone looked intently at the Ruby before she leaned forward, "In a sea of other souls where your free will is taken from you, locked inside with no way to escape, lost for many years, fearing to lose your own identity, with only one thing on your mind. *whispers* Let me out."

"Okay, I've officially had enough, can we please do something else?" Judith requested, almost panicking as she was now visibly shaking.

"Judith, what's gotten into you?" Beth asked with concern.

"I take it I scared her the most with that story. I never thought I could make such a posh and proper Pearl quiver over anything, much less a scary story," Cassie chuckled.

"Well forgive me for being superstitious and very frightened. I was raised in the Pearl Mansion all my life and haven't really heard of something so terrifying before," Judith retorted before trying to calm herself, taking deep breaths and trying to straighten her hair.

"Oh boy… I guess this holiday just isn't for you, Judith," Jessica sighed, "We can stop for now an-"

"N-No, no, don't let me stop you. I don't wish to ruin the fun for you all. Let's keep going and see where this goes."

"...Thanks."

"How brave of you, Judy," Sara smiled as she patted her shoulder.

"I suppose. If I have to."

Jessica smiled at Judith, who couldn't help but smile back as they resumed their story, but Jessica noticed something a little off. She couldn't help but take notice of a little girl hiding by a pillar. She looked confused at first before doing a double take, only to not see anyone there.

"You ok, Jess?" Cyndi checked.

"Yeah, I just… thought I saw something for a moment," Jessica shrugged off before the lights flickered before going black, making all eight of the Gem Warriors scream in shock.

"Whoa! I didn't expect that!" Cyndi admitted.

"Is anyone close to me?" Judith nearly stuttered.

"Yea, I am. In fact, you're clinging to my arms," Jessica pointed out, Judith noticing before she let go.

"I'm sorry."

"Take it easy, girls. We still got these lights on. They'll help," Cassie assured as she pointed to the crystals in the center that were lit up like they were sitting around a fireplace, "Grab one for each."

Cassie grabbed a shard before snapping it off and holding it like a torch/flashlight as it began to glow and light the way. Everyone else followed suit, their touch on the shards making them glow the respective color of each Gem as they looked around.

"Now how do we put the power back on?" Cyndi pondered as the eight looked around.

"Is there some kind of circuit breaker or something here?" Jessica asked.

"Usually there's always a Center Gem that powers a whole Gem Home, so if the power were to just shut off on the rare occasion it does, then it is equivalent to a 'circuit breaker' turning the lights off like you said," Judith informed as the group wandered towards around.

"Okay… four of us should go find this Center Gem and try and get it back on. The other four should go find Diane and make sure she's alright."

"Good idea, Jessica," Beth agreed, "Myself, Liza, Cassie, and Sami will go find Diane."

"Ok. Sara, Judith, Cyndi, show me where you believe it could be," Jessica requested.

"I've been here numerous times before… I will lead the way," Judith assured with some hesitance followed by a gulp before Sara slowly gripped her hand.

"Don't worry, Judy. We're here with you," Sara assured with a smile, allowing Judith to sigh and smile back as she lead her own group in the direction she was going.

As they left, the moon began to rise up high in the night sky, leaving a long shadow of a young girl who seemed to be there before before taking off after Jessica's group.

* * *

Beth was leading her group down the hallway in a slow manner so as to not disturb anyone before they noticed a large door slightly open before they peeked in to see the large library lined with shelves upon shelves of books. Some were knocked down when they noticed that in the lights, they also saw a figure down on the floor, and the Gems gasped upon seeing who it was in the glow of the shards.

"Diane!" Liza gasped, rushing towards the Gemless woman and kneeling down, "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Ugh… something attacked me…"

"Did you get a good look at it?" Cassie checked, Diane just rubbing her head.

"Get away from here… all of you…"

"Why? We came here to help you," Sami responded with confusion.

"There's someone in here. I-I thought she was just a myth, a story… but if she's here… she will not stop."

They all soon heard giggling around them, making the five women look around with a sudden look of shock.

"What was that?" Liza wondered, looking very scared as she huddled behind Beth.

"Show yourself!" Cassie demanded, revealing her gauntlets as she was ready to punch something while Sami summoned her bow and arrow.

Beth and Liza stuck close to Diane while helping her up.

"It's her…" Diane gasped as they saw a lone pink balloon float closer to them, turning around to reveal it had purple text on it saying "You have something that belongs to me" with a smiley face that has Xs for eyes written on it.

They all looked at it with some confusion until it popped, revealing a figure standing before them, a girl with glowing pink eyes and wearing a magenta sleeveless one-piece hoodie with legs, her large messy dark pink pigtails poking holes out of her hood, was barefoot, and also had pink nail polish on her fingers and toes.

"Impossible…" Sami gasped as she stared at the girl who just giggled as she skipped closer to them.

* * *

Back with Jessica's group, Sara kept holding Judith's hand for comfort as she lit the way, the group seemingly stumbling through what looks like the underbelly of the castle.

"Are you sure that this leads to the Center Gem?" Jessica checked, seeing the walls were made of brick and mortar.

"I'm pretty sure. I remember Queen Selene showing me the path down this way-," Judith began before they heard a noise, "Eep!"

"Who's there?" Cyndi demanded, turning around to light the way behind them and get a better look, even hearing some frightened breathing, "Someone's close by. Hiding."

"Hold on… it sounds scared," Sara realized as she slowly approached the source, "Hello? Who's there?"

As they got closer, they followed where the breathing came from, turning to see a small girl with somewhat frazzled hair and wearing a tattered beige dress that reached above her ankles, cradling her legs as she looked away from the Gem Warriors.

"Please don't hurt me," she whimpered.

"Wait… she's a Pearl?" Judith realized as she saw the Gem of her people on the girl's left hand before kneeling down to her level, "Come here, child. Come here. I won't hurt you. I'm a Pearl too. See?"

She points to the pearl on her shoulder, the girl looking at where Judith was pointing and she seemed to recognize the gem after seeing the pearl on her own hand.

"Do you have a name?"

The girl lowered her head and simply crawled towards Judith, not knowing if she was true to not hurting her. Judith simply put her fingers on the girl's chin and helped her look up to see an assuring smile, the little pearl just starting to tear up and suddenly hugged her. This surprised them, but Judith picked her up and cradled her in her arms to comfort the child until she could speak.

"I'm Josie," the girl answered finally as she leaned closer to the Pearl Warrior, "Can you please help me?"

"We'll do whatever we can. Tell us what's wrong," Jessica assured.

"...A monster's after me, and I've been hiding from her, hoping she would go away."

"A monster? In the Diamond Castle?" Sara responded, slightly nervous about this.

"I bet it's some Corrupted Gem trying to get her like the others. We'll beat the beast down like before," Cyndi smirked with a crack of her knuckles.

"No… she was an actual Gem. I escaped from her, but she's still following me," Josie shivered and whimpered as Judith kept holding her closely.

"I bet that whoever this Gem is, she's the one who cut the power," Jessica figured as she looked around, "Let's keep moving and find the Center Gem. I'd like to see what we're fighting instead of going blind."

The others nodded as they continued, Judith holding Josie and letting her cling to her back while she held her crystal shard to light up the way.

'_While this ordeal does frighten me, I have to be strong for not just my friends… but this young Pearl,'_ Judith thought to herself, still feeling anxiety over what's to come, but still willing to protect those she cares about, especially one of her own.

* * *

At that moment, Lucy and Selene were holding each other out of the suspense of the movie.

"Should we go back and check on Jessica and the others?" Lucy asked, feeling worried for her daughter.

"I understand your concern, Lulu, but I'm certain they can handle looking over the castle and Diane for a moment," Selene assured.

"I wish I had your certainty and confidence."

"You may not know it, but you do, my love."

"Stop it, Leenie," Lucy giggled a bit before they kissed each other, suddenly leaping when they saw the shark pop out, gripping each other and almost falling off the couch, "Geez! That always gets me!"

They panted a bit in shock before chuckling.

* * *

Back in the underbelly of the Diamond Castle, the group managed to make it to a large room with a giant crystal hovering in the center of the area, a set of steps leading to an up close look at it.

"Here it is, the Center Gem," Judith informed as the gem was flickering while the Warriors walked up the stairs to get a better look at it.

"So how do we boot this back up?" Jessica pondered a bit before getting an idea, "Ooh, let me see if this works."

She stepped up to the crystal and hit it a couple times with her fist, making the other Gems leap in shock, but after a few seconds… nothing happened.

"What were you doing? That could've shut the whole thing off," Cyndi retorted, almost yelling.

"My Mom used to call this 'Fonzing', but I guess I should've expected it to not work in real life. Eh, was worth a shot anyway," Jessica answered with a shrug as Josie looked up to the gem before spotting something else near it.

"Look… on the floor," Josie noticed, pointing to some shards lying about on the floor along with some empty slots, "Someone pulled out the crystals."

"I bet the Gem who turned off the power in the first place. Let me take a crack at this," Cyndi responded, cracking her knuckles before going to pick up the crystals and figuring out which goes where, "Hmm…"

Cyndi looked at the shapes of each piece and the holes where they would fit in, swiftly inserting the crystals back into their proper shapes. With that, they glowed back up along with the main Center Gem itself, the room lighting back up as the group saw them come on.

"Yes! The power's back on!" Sara cheered with a jump before the girls all smiled and sighed with relief.

"Great. Now we can go back and meet up with the others," Judith sighed with relief, turning around, but shrieked and jumped when she saw Cassie just standing there, the other girls reacting similarly, "My goodness, Cassie. Don't do that again."

"How's Diane doing?" Jessica checked, only to get no answer in return, the silence from the usually straightforward Gem starting to get worrisome, "Cassie? I asked you a question here. *snaps fingers*"

"Hello~," Sara added, waving her hand in front of Cassie's face.

"...Don't be fooled…!" they heard a voice panting from behind the Ruby Gem, the group down there looking to see Diane holding onto the wall for support.

"Diane?!" Jessica gasped.

"Something's happened to her!"

Cassie then summoned her gauntlets from her Ruby eye and started attacking, surprising Sara and Jessica as they rolled out of the way.

"Yo, what's gotten into you?!" Cyndi shouted, pulling out her sais to counter the incoming attacks.

Josie looked frightened, Judith holding her close as she kept her rapier out in defense of herself and the smaller Gem, Jessica and Sara joining suit to go help Diane.

"I'll hold her off, you get them out of here! Don't want the Center Gem to get cracked!" Cyndi replied, twirling a sai before she blocked Cassie's gauntlets well.

Once they were at a stalemate, pushing against the other in a test of strength of sorts, Cyndi could see that Cassie's pupil was glowing pink instead of being the usual black. She gasped before kicking the Ruby back and put the dots together. However, she soon looked behind her to see Sami, Beth, and Liza coming towards her, all with glowing pink pupils as well. Liza, in particular, seemed to hold up a pink balloon with purple marks on it depicting a hand grabbing an amethyst gem, Cyndi looking at it with a twinge of fear. The Gems then split in alternate directions, awaiting the arrival of their new master, Cyndi now figuring it out as this pink-clad Gem skipped down the stairs towards her with a smile on her face.

"...I should've known… you're the Lone Spinel…" Cyndi deduced with a scowl while this hooded Gem, this Spinel just giggled in response.

"Good, another Gem that knows me," the Spinel smirked with a dark giggle while twirling her pigtails a bit, "I take it you've seen my friends. *motions to the Gem Warriors surrounding her* They were quite the powerful bunch, aren't they?"

"They're MY friends, you dirty little pebble!"

"Oh come on now, that's no way to treat your new friend, is it? After all, I just want to have fun with my new friends."

"You ain't takin my gem, witch!"

The Spinel just scoffed as she let go of her pigtails and swiftly avoided the sai strikes from Cyndi, ducking and jumping over each blow before she reached out and grabbed her by the neck. She raised her up off her feet, but Cyndi kept throwing knees at her to get her to let go. The Spinel was forced to let go, stumbling back a bit. Just as Cyndi yelled out with going for another scythe attack, the Spinel's gem on her left palm glowed in response, a curved blade popping out of it and getting Cyndi right in the chest between her right shoulder and where Cyndi's gem was in the middle of her chest.

"Aw~, wouldn't want to damage the shiny gem now, would we?" the Spinel replied, giggling as she blew warm air on the amethyst, using part of her hoodie to clean it until she could see her reflection.

She laughed some more as Cyndi began to glow pink, making her yell out and scream as her body began to get pulled into the Spinel's gem in her left hand like she was flushed down a drain. The other controlled Gem Warriors soon followed, making her laugh as she flexed her fingers and shined the gem on her palm some more.

"Great. Now… to reunite with a lost friend," she smirked as she skipped along, her Gem glowing in her hand.

* * *

Back with Jessica and her group, they were helping Diane out of the underbelly of the castle, only now hearing Cyndi letting out a scream from behind them.

"That didn't sound good," Jessica realized.

"We should go back down there and help her!" Sara shouted, only to be stopped by Diane.

"No! That's exactly what she wants…" Diane pointed out, "The more Gems there are, the easier it is for her to take."

"Who could possibly do such a thing as take our friends and shut the power off?" Judith gawked, looking terrified.

"I know who it is… I saw that Ruby lady's eyes glow pink," Josie answered meekly while still clinging to Judith's back, "She's the one who's after me. The Gem that absorbed everyone…"

They hear singing coming their way, the group looking scared as the pink-clad Gem skipped down the hallway before stopping, wiggling her toes and having her hands in her pocket with nothing but a smile on her face.

"It can't be… we thought it was just a story…" Judith gawked, having trouble finding the words.

"Oh, it's so nice to meet some new friends… as well as reunite with an old friend," the Spinel smiled, looking to Josie as she was saying that last part as she held up her left hand to show her gem, "I am Penny, but you know me as the Lone Spinel."

"You?!" Jessica gawked.

"It does make sense. I've seen her absorb the rest of the Gem Warriors that were trying to protect me, and now she has them among her collection of many, many souls she's absorbed over centuries," Diane realized.

"I'll admit, I've made a lot of friends over the years, some big, tough ones too, but these Gem Warriors… I think they're my new favorites," Penny smiled, giggling with anticipation as she saw the faces of Cassie, Sami, Beth, Liza, and Cyndi in her gem.

"Why are you really here? And what do you want?" Jessica demanded to know from the Spinel who simply ran her finger over her gem and sat down with her legs crossed while telling the story.

"Well… I'm here to take back a friend that unfortunately ran away from me. That little one you're holding onto," Penny answered, pointing to Josie, who was hiding behind Judith's head, shivering in fear, "She somehow broke free of the influence I have over all my friends. She ran away from me. But why? Your family is good friends with me, you should be too."

"You're not a friend. You… you're a witch! A monster!" Josie shouted, tears running down her face.

"Yeah, you got a really funny idea of friendship, forcing others to join you in your gem and taking away their free will," Sara added, clearly not happy as she held her hammer out.

"Diane, can I trust you to keep Josie safe?" Judith checked with the Gemless woman.

"Don't worry. I'll keep her close," Diane assured, "Josie, come with me."

Josie was lowered down to Diane as the little Pearl nervously approached Diane and walked away with her.

"Yeah, no need for the Gemless woman to be around. I can only be friends with real Gems," Penny scoffed with a smirk, standing back up and looking to remaining Gem Warriors.

"Don't talk like that about my aunt!" Jessica snapped, summoning her sword from her own Gem and aiming it at the Spinel.

"Oh yes, the Diamonds. Always the hardest to get to, but one of the most sought after Gems of Gemtropolis. I can let my friends handle you…"

Penny opened her hand and sent out eight lights, revealing different women with varying gems and colors, among them being the Gem Warriors and the newly absorbed Cyndi, who now also had her pupils glowing pink.

"Have fun now. Just be careful not to hurt each other. I like to have my new friends clean and in shape," Penny waved, skipping in the direction where Diane and Josie were heading.

"No!" Judith shouted, about to chase after her, but Cassie leaped forward and stood in her way, forcing her to block with her rapier.

"You go after her! We can handle these puppets!" Jessica insisted.

"Are you sure?"

"We'll be fine, just go get her!" Sara added, Judith looking hesitant before deciding to go after Penny, "Now come on! Face the wrath of my HUGE MALLET!"

Sara slammed the mallet down onto the ground to get it shaking and knocking almost everyone down. Jessica was quick to leap up and stand back to back with Sara, slashing at and keeping away the puppets that Penny was using to fight without shattering the gems of course. They struggled for a bit, even Cyndi and Cassie trying to tackle the both of them, but they kicked them over their heads before sitting up and blocking two arrows fired at a time by Sami.

* * *

Back to Judith, she tried to catch up with the Spinel Gem, seeing a pink balloon fly into the library. She let out a gulp and stepped inside of the massive room. She slowly walked around, looking for Penny while Diane and Josie hid underneath one of the tables further away. Josie saw the same pink balloon floating around the library in an ominous manner, closing her mouth to keep herself from yelling for help out of fear she'd alert the Spinel of their presence, Diane keeping her close for comfort. Some humming and skipping steps were heard, Judith still wandering through the large room that was still somewhat dark, navigating the maze of shelves and searching not just for Penny, but for her fellow Pearl and Diane. She saw that very same balloon towards her, nervous at first, but Judith used her rapier to pop the balloon as it sprayed out a yellow and pink confetti from it and making the Pearl Warrior pant and sigh with relief.

"Hmph. Balloons aren't scary," Judith scoffed with ease, soon turning around and jumping pretty easily upon seeing Penny with her hand in her pocket and holding another pink balloon in front of her face before slowly lifting it to reveal the Spinel's friendly, but deceptive smile, "Alright… that's a little unnerving."

"What's wrong, Judy? I just want to be your friend. Here… my gift to you," Penny replied, handing her the balloon.

Judith turned it around to see an image of a pearl being cradled in a pair of hands. It then popped, Penny now suddenly really close to her, her back against the bookshelf as she was looking down at the Spinel.

"You're afraid of me, aren't you?"

"...It's hard not to be afraid after hearing your story…" Judith admitted, feeling her heartbeat increase as Penny raised her hands, but they softly rubbed the Pearl Warrior's cheeks.

"And it embarasses you sharing your fears with your other so-called 'friends'. You're scared that they'll see you differently. At best, they'll continually tease you, the high and mighty Pearl Warrior, the most proper of Gems, reduced to a sniveling baby over a silly story like me. But I can change that," Penny snidely whispered as her left hand carefully caressed and teased Judith's shoulder, slowly going down towards the pearl, "Let me be your friend, and you will never have to feel any fear, cowardice, or embarrassment ever again. You'll be among like minded Gems who won't think less of you."

The Spinel then gently stepped on Judith's toes before raising herself up on her tips to give her a kiss on the neck, nibbling gently and making her let out a small gasp.

"What do you say?"

Judith looked into her eyes and saw the comfort they seemed to convey, unaware of Penny's left hand over her pearl and getting ready to absorb her. But the Pearl wasn't stupid as to let the Spinel trick her into getting absorbed, struggling to push back against this temptation.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" they both heard a voice cry out, seeing Josie at the edge of the hall they were in, Diane trying to get her back.

"There you are!" Penny shouted with a smile, but this distraction left her open to a knee to the gut and a takedown from Judith, the Pearl Warrior managing to get out of the Spinel's grasp.

"Sorry, but I already have friends who don't think less of me, even when I am a nervous nilly," Judith retorted, picking up her rapier and aiming it at Penny.

"Aw, poo. Well, it's always like that. But I do like my new friends feisty."

Penny flexed her fingers as a kama connected to a chain dropped out of her gem and she gripped it by the handle on the right hand and the chain in her left. The Spinel began to spin the chain, the kama starting to spin faster and faster, Diane and Josie getting away to avoid the weapon getting closer to them, and yet Judith was on her guard, the weapon spinning at saw blade like speeds as it knocked the books over and cut clean through the wooden shelves. Soon, the weapons clanged against each other, Judith's rapier managing to block it without issue. They kept clashing together, backing out of the hallway of shelves and into a more open area of the library, the two Gems being rather evenly matched despite Penny being on the offensive. With Judith's fencing stance, she managed to deflect the kama and even jabbing at Penny one time. With a grunt of frustration, she used the chain to trip Judith up, but even on the floor she kept blocking the attacks from the Spinel, managing to keep Penny away from her shoulder pearl before backflipping to her feet.

"I should call some more of my friends to join in the fun," Penny figured, about to summon up more from her gem.

"Why? Too scared to face against one Gem by yourself?" Judith mocked, making Penny actually twitch an eye and slowly scowl before shaking her head.

"I took care of the rest of the Gem Warriors by myself!"

"With cowardly stealth and frightening mind games! You took advantage of the situation all because when it comes to actual fighting skills, you are nothing," Judith further mocked, making Penny scrunch her face up a bit, "Oh, what's the matter? Did I strike a nerve?"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Penny snapped, almost stomping her feet, Judith looking behind her and seeing Jessica and Sara by the doorway giving them a slight nod.

"Oh ho, I'm getting somewhere with you. I thought you were some terrifying myth when I first heard of you, but no… you're just a scared, lonely, and pathetic little Gem with a very funny idea of friendship."

Penny gripped her weapon tighter before Judith noticed her friends got closer.

"What do you know!? You think I wanted this title of the Lone Spinel? I just wanted to be loved but was never given the chance! Any time I would find a new Spinel, my Gem acted up and instantly absorbed her in! I couldn't control it!" Penny yelled before breathing in and out, calming down, "But… I accepted who I am. If this will help me make new friends, so that I'll never be alone… so be it."

Tears stream down her face, even while she's giggling, the laughter growing a bit insane as she lifted her head to the ceiling as if howling to the heavens.

"I'm glad I got you to unravel. It bought them enough time," Judith admitted, making Penny stop her laughter and look to the Pearl with confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, she felt a huge hammer conk to her dome before she dropped to the ground due to how unexpected it was. The Spinel turned quickly to see Sara and Jessica joining their fellow Gem Warriors with their weapons at hand.

"How did you beat my friends?" Penny demanded to know.

"Simple. Spend enough time with your friends, and you start knowing their weaknesses as well as their strengths," Sara pointed out, giggling while twirling her hammer in preparation.

"She's rather formidable on her own," Judith admitted as she took a breather before coming up with an idea, "Let's show her the power between true friends and what it's capable of."

Jessica caught on and smiled, pressing play on her Walkman that was still hoisted on her belt with a speaker to play songs out loud. A spooky beat then began to sound off with animals chatters and wolf howls coming from the track before the climax hit, Jessica dancing to the beat and Sara soon following. Judith saw them a little confused before doing her best to match up, following the beat even if it wasn't to her typical style. Soon, their gems both glowed as Jessica grabbed Judith's hand along with Sara, Judith feeling much comfort as they began to dance in unison.

"What is this?!" Penny gasped as the three came together, the light blinding her for a moment.

The light then died down, revealing a singular being. The woman had amber hair with brown streaks done in a wavy length, one bright green eye and one cyan eye, and was currently wearing a denim overall over a green and yellow shirt, and leggings even stretching down after the overall legs have ended, said leggings stopping above the ankles to reveal the bare feet, the nail polish being an alternating white, green, and ivory along with their respective gemstones on the parts that they belonged to.

"Fusion? Now this is new."

"You have chosen to mess with the wrong Gems, Spinel. Now you must deal with the one named Sasha!" this new fusion declared, pulling out Jessica's broadsword, Judith's rapier, and Sara's hammer.

She then took the broadsword and shoved the hilt into the hammer's head before piercing the hammer's grip with the rapier, all three glowing before fusing into a large halberd with an axe like blade along with a piercing tip on the side. Penny looked at it in shock and awe, but shook her head to stay focused, spinning her kama and chain faster and faster before chucking the kama, only for her to get disarmed by Sasha thanks to the spike part of the Halberd.

"Is that all? Come on, show me how the Spinel fights. Not her so called friends," Sasha taunted, as Penny started to pick the kama up again and use it against her.

The two continued to clash blades, Penny fighting more out of desperation as Sasha had the advantage of reach with her Halberd. Sasha twirled and spun the Halberd around to force Penny up against the wall to slash at her repeatedly, making her roll out of the way. The triple Fusion glared at the Spinel before she rushed at them. The two dropped their weapons during the chase before Sasha began to display more expertise in hand to hand combat, which forced Penny to block or dodge, but ultimately threw more stronger blows. She then took her down, Sasha soon pinning Penny down before grabbing the gem in her left hand. She yelled in pain as the Fusion pulled harder until the gem popped out, causing her to scream out as all the astral souls flew out of the gemstone and around and out the Castle. The absorbed Gem Warriors quickly were brought back to the prone bodies that were defeated, along with others flying into the sky while Josie looked at herself glowing.

"Josie?" Sasha asked out of confusion, the fusion flashing a glow before splitting up into her components, the Pearl rushing over to her fellow Gem.

"What's wrong?" Judith asked as she held Josie close.

"I've been stuck with the Spinel for too long… my family is gone from this world… and so am I," Josie sighed, Judith getting a good look at her face as she continues glowing.

"My goodness… I'm so sorry, Josie…"

"Don't cry for me. Now I can join my family and we can all be at peace."

Judith couldn't help but shed a tear for the young Pearl, smiling as Josie waved at her and started levitating. She then held her hands out towards the sky, seeing two older women that she joined hands with before they all spotted the other Gems that have been inside the Spinel for so long that they've passed on. The other Gem Warriors soon joined with the three after shaking off the disorientation to see the multitudes of souls that Penny absorbed and finally pass on.

"That's nice and all, but… what do we do with Penny?" Jessica checked as she held the Spinel gem.

"I say we shatter it to keep her from coming back and doing anything like this again," Cassie insisted.

"No, that's too mean to do to any Gem. Look at her," Sara responded, pointing to the nearly greyed out body of Penny, the girl panting and struggling to breathe, "We heard what she was saying, about how she never wanted to be alone… her gem absorbed others without knowing how to control it and she just accepted who she was with no one to turn to."

"...I know that feeling all too well…" Diane admitted as she slowly joined the rest to circle the Lone Spinel as she got on her knees, slowly removing the hood from her head and looked at the hole in her left hand, her gem no longer there.

"It's getting late now. The fun is over… everyone has left… and I'm alone. I'll always be alone… I'm scared," Penny whispered to herself, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't be scared, we're here with you," Judith comforted as she wiped the tears from Penny's eyes.

"What will happen to me now?"

"...We can store your gem for rehabilitation, help you control this absorption or maybe remove it," Liza answered as Penny just looked at everyone.

"Yeah… we can make sure you won't suffer being alone again," Cassie nodded, starting to agree with the peaceful solution.

"No one deserves isolation," Sami added in comfort, the Spinel looking surprised by their compassion.

"I can make friends?" Penny asked, her tears turning from sadness and fear to hope and joy.

"Without absorbing their souls, hopefully," Judith figured, looking at the Gem's eyes before leaning in and giving Penny a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"...Thank you…"

Penny smiled with relief as she closed her eyes, her body turning into dust and the particles flying up and going into the sky while they watched.

"Ironic, isn't it? A story meant to terrify, yet the monster is so tragic," Beth noted as the Gem Warriors looked to the Spinel in Jessica's hand.

"Almost reminds me of Frankenstein in that regard," Jessica admitted, getting some confused looks from most of the Gems.

"Um… I don't think we quite get that," Sami confessed.

"That's another story for this time of year. Now where do I put this?"

"Follow me," Liza answered as she did just that, the others close by.

They kept walking through the halls before finding a small monitor of sorts above a case of some gemstones.

"This is where most gemstones go to heal. In this case… she will be reborn over time," Sami explained to Jessica as Liza pressed buttons on the monitor to open the case, setting the spinel within, and it fortunately didn't absorb any further energies while the case closed, giving off a more peaceful pink glow, "Now… we let it rest."

"Ok… here's hoping she'll be better," Jessica smiled before yawning, "Okay, who else is feeling pooped."

"Maybe we should get you home," Judith figured.

"Sorry this whole Halloween party didn't go well."

"Are you kidding? Despite the scariness, I had lots of fun," Sara giggled as she gave Jessica a big hug.

"We should do it again next year… but without the near death situations," Cyndi admitted.

"And I will have a tougher spine by then," Judith assured, taking a deep breath and putting on her best brave face with her hands on her hips.

"Take it easy, will ya?" Cassie requested.

"Thanks girls. ...Happy Halloween," Jessica smiled before they waved.

"Happy Halloween," they all bid Jessica.

* * *

"Sounded like you had a rough time," Lucy noted, both of them in their pajamas later that night, Jessica having explained what happened.

"Yeah, but it was still fun. How was company with Selene?" Jessica admitted.

"Loved every moment. We enjoyed the movie we were watching, and we kept an ear out for Trick-or-Treaters, giving them candy and whatnot."

"Can't wait for next Halloween already."

"Take it easy though. From the night's events, you seem like you need the sleep," Lucy noted as Jessica nodded and yawned before heading to her room.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Mom," Jessica replied, going to her bed to doze off as Lucy smiled and did the same.

* * *

Back in the castle, Selene looked at where the Gem Warriors placed Penny's spinel and carefully removed it. She smiled seeing the warm glow coming from it and pet it like a mother would a scared child.

"We will help you, my child," she assured with a warm smile, the gem's warm glow simply glowing softly as Selene pet it a couple more times and even kissed it before putting it back.

* * *

**KKD: That was both spooky and tragic… just… wow.**

**TB: I originally thought of destroying the Spinel, but with the tragic undertones of her backstory, I don't think it would be right.**

**KKD: Yea, not gonna lie, this took us a while, and giving this antagonist more dimension seems to work better in this case. **

**TB: I felt the Halloween like atmosphere was strong with this one. You?**

**KKD: Yea, very.**

**TB: Favorite part?**

**KKD: Hard to say, but the closest is the final battle, and especially the cue to the fusion, which is to Michael Jackson's Thriller, for the record. Speaking of, I know we avoid the specific song names for various reasons, but I feel we need to bring them in later just so readers know what we're using.**

**TB: Plus, there's a disclaimer saying we don't own any of the songs used.**

**KKD: That too, but still.**

**TB: My favorite is the final battle and the new fusion, including the release of all the souls.**

**KKD: Yea. Though the ending was bittersweet. Penny was badly hurt, but based on what we see, she'll be better. Trust us.**

**TB: Maybe we'll use her character again in a future story.**

**KKD: We'll see. For now, thanks for joining us for this Halloween episode.**

**TB: Stay tuned for other stories in the future. Until then, I'm The Lone Rider…**

**KKD: Ore wa za Crossover King.**

**TB/KKD: And Happy Halloween!**


End file.
